Classic combination from the Ray Mine, with beautiful stalactites of Chrysocolla, coated by a thin , translucent layer of quartz variety chalcedony which both protects the underlaying soft mineral and gives it an ethereal look when lit well. This is an entire pocket , nicely preserved and protected ! Rare ! Joe Budd photos

This stunning specimen looks bright and new, but is definitely from the classic mid to late-1800's finds of these sharp calcite twins, that reigned as the kings of twinned calcite for a century after. Heart twins from Egremont are an "essential classic" in that they are beautiful and important at the same time, and I think add depth to any collection that has more common styles of calcite. Aside from one (barely passing) similar pocket from China about 5 years ago, there still is nothing else like these around from other locales. Most of these twins were collected in the 1860s to the 1880s, when famous British dealer John Graves handled a majority (CLICK HERE to see his old advertisement from 1895 - http://www.irocks.com/new09/talling.jpg). To survive to today in such condition usually means it was in a museum drawer for 100 years. Also, such clarity, such bright lustre, is extremely rare in combination. The total colorlessness of the piece makes it stand out even in a case of fancier gem crystals, literally like a "jewel." This large twin is REALLY CLEAN with no significant damage and a pure white clarity not marred by internal spots of hematite stain or matrix inclusions. In person it is bright and shiny, no hint of old dinginess. Furthermore, a twin this fat is unusual - most are a bit narrower. From the noted, old classics collection of Phil Scalisi. Joe Budd photos

A highly unusual, elongated tourmaline crystal showing what seems to be a "twist" in growth. This is just a bizarre piece, with intense pink-magenta saturated color as well. This is almost certainly (given the locality) the rarer variety of tourmaline Liddicoatite, and not rubellite tourmaline, but has not been analysed to confirm. Joe Budd photos

Incredible elegance marks this piece, to my eye, as one of the finer miniatures from this find. The mine has been trickling out rhodonites now for a few years, in addition to previous finds around 1990 and 1998 of different style entirely. This style, though, appeals particularly to me for its fancy , gracile, aesthetics. Most previous pockets and finds here are of clumped, thick groups of crystals. A piece like this , though, is a bit fragile and you can imagine that not many are found, nor make it out to market. Joe Budd photos

This is one of only two such examples of gem, twinned , jewel-like calcite on stibnite that attained this level of perfection, from a small find of late 1999/early 2000 (in fact, the piece is shown in the What's New from Tucson column of May 2000, used to illustrate the find at the time it came to market). The crystal is absolutely pristine and features the richest color saturation and lustre for which this pocket was known. The stibnite is ALSO pristine and complete, all around! The calcite, nearly 2 inches, is perched upon it like a boat on a mountain. The pocket has left an impression , and was never repeated in this quality, though a trickle of further specimens came out. The later specimens were scalenohedral. The twinned habit, such as you see here, was unique to just a few pieces. There was so much mystery and competition surrounding these spectacular combo pieces that THREE TIMES , I was given erroneous information by Chinese and American dealers who were trying to keep it a secret until more mining could be done. Only years later did we learn the true locale. I remember falling in love with this piece (at the time, I was a devoted calcite collector myself, and had been so for 20 years since childhood) , but it was already sold to collector Steve Smale. I pried it out of him in an exchange within a year, and then kept it myself for half a dozen years until Wally repeated the armtwisting trick with me on another specimen i "had to have," as I switched to keeping only larger Chinese cabinet sized pieces for myself. Wally works here at our office helping me with sorting and research, a few days a week; and after two years of him fondling it in my collection, I had given in to the temptation of trading it out. This was, and remains, a favorite of my older collection, however. Now available from the Wally Mann collection, it is up for sale briefly as he wants to use the funds towards another piece. If it doesn't go, he'll keep it. Joe Budd Photos

This is an old, rare, locality piece. Seldom do you see large sphene crystals from the Alpine deposits in Switzerland or Austria. This is a perfect twin, very gemmy and with sharp form. Formerly in the collection of Clarence Bement, which was purchased by financier JP Morgan and donated around 1910 to the American Museum of Natural History. Joe Budd Photos . Large thumbnail or small miniature size

Once an old classic, there was a lapse of production from this locality for decades. Now, re-mining efforts for specimens here have produced a probably brief burst of this old gem material again , and at very reasonable prices for specimens in better condition than the pieces we find stashed in most old collections from the 1960s-1970s. NOW is the time to get one! I have never seen such good material from this historic location on the market in my own lifetime, at fair prices no less; and I believe it will not last. This is a particularly fat and gemmy crystal, twinned, with substantial value in gem-cutting material alone. It is complete all around, and shows unusually well-developed, broad terminations. It is pristine save for only the most trivial of nicks,nothing consequential - remarkable for a soft species in this size, and from this locality. This fine miniature was purchased in Europe in 2009 and has been in the collection of Bill Larson, prior to an armtwisting exchange to me recently. If from the older finds, from an old or museum collection, one would expect to hav epaid double for a piece with more damage before this new find, to get anything remotely as displayable. I am a big believer in revisiting old lcoations that produce again, and putting away for the long droughts that inevitably follow. Joe Budd Photos

Euclase from the famous imperial topaz mining district in Brazil is quite rare in this quality, with only a very few crystals found per year and seldom any of such size as this one. The color is a pleasing light blue shade, and the sparkly brightness of these crystals is totally unique from other gem euclase (from Colombia's emerald mines or from the alternate Brazilian locale in Ecuador). These look like works of heavy lead glass, with the same effect of seeing any surface details reflected as an optical illusion of other faces of the crystal. This is a true gem, and worthy of the most serious collector of Brazilian gem crystals. It comes from the private collection of a gem trade dealer I know in Brazil, who sold a few things recently. I have not had such a Brazilian piece for sale previously and i have seen only two euclases of this quality from Brazil sell in recent years - both at higher prices , in fact. As this came literally direct from the source, I felt the price to me was reasonable and I have kept it so (in my opinion). Joe Budd Photos

A stunning, totally gemmy crystal weighing in at 36.5cts of pure gem rough quality cutting material. This crystal is razor sharp and glassy. Interestingly, it is composed of two crystals in parallel growth, and so the termination is more appealing than the typical "singles" you might expect in a thumbnail example of this species.The blue color is a normal color saturation, and the purple is richer than usual , especially in a smaller crystal size. The piece exhibits a third color on the vertical axis, more pink-lavender than the deep red common in larger crystals. Still, this third color is present and marks it as natural and unheated. Joe Budd Photos

Dundasite is a very rare lead carbonate species. This relatively large specimen hosts the richest single amount of Dundasite I have seen on a Tsumeb piece. Normally the mineral is white from other locales, and seldom found in such color intensity. This is therefore not only pretty, but is a major example of this rarity. It was in an old African collection, and later comes from the Marshall Sussman Tsumeb collection. What is more, the intense blue crystal clusters of dundasite are perched on contrasting, stark white crystals of reticulated cerussite. The unusual bright white color of the cerussite is due to their alteration to hydrocerussite - probably a partial alteration, if not quite complete. A major rarity, worthy of showing in a display collection as well - That is my favorite kind of rarity. Joe Budd Photos

Gallatin is known for honey-colored and translucent calcites , and also as a tough and remote place to collect. Most pieces are big - the locale usually produces larger calcite crystals of double this size and above. This has to be the most aesthetic smaller example I have seen, for quality, translucency, and sharpness of form! It was long in the calcite collection of Dallas collector (and organizer of much of our auctions) Karl Warning.  Complete all around, and comes with a custom base. Joe Budd Photos

For Brazil., this is a crazy thing!!! I have never seen a gwindel of this magnitude from Brazil, and this comes from the collection of a prominent gem dealer who lives in the region, and whom I trust completely as to its provenance. The ironic thing, of course, is that a large gwindel of this quality would cost MORE if from the Swiss Alps. The piece is 5 inches tall by 4 inches wide and 3 deep, as it sits on a custom base. It is dramatic and good from both sides. Complete all around, with a very pronounced twist, this is a major piece! It comes with well-known gem dealer Brian Cook's handwritten notes about it on his business card, where he says there were 8 found, in 1985-1987 at this location. It has been in his private collection for 25 years until now. Joe Budd Photos

This emerald is one of the finest single crystals I know of for the locale, on a gram per gram size and quality basis. It is gemmy, transparent, bright, with excellent color and the rarest type of termination for the locality (or for emeralds, in general). The termination is sharp and prismatic instead of flat and hexagonal, with brilliantly glassy, lustrous faces. It was exchanged out of the American Museum of Natural History in the early 1980s to dealer/collector Larry Conklin. He kept it for years, and then took an offer and let it go. Recently, he was able to get it back, after (re)-purchasing the collection it went into. The AMNH records disclosed to Larry at the time of its deaccession indicated that the famous gemologist and mineral dealer George Kunz had sold the piece to William Boyce Thompson (1869-1930). Thompson was a major mining investor by 1900, with operations in Arizona and Montana in addition to his financial influence as director for a time of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His collection was bequeathed to the American Museum on his death. The crystal was once on display in the Museum's mineral hall, although it was wrongly labelled as "Brazil" in origin at the time despite its obvious and easily identifiable North Carolina nature: At the turn of the 1900s there was a premium attached to emeralds from foreign countries, as North Carolina was producing domestically; and it is quite possible that the specimen was intentionally mislabelled for that reason in the chain of ownership. Note that the piece has not, in 100 years, been cleaned fully - it still retains pocket clay attached and shows an "antique " look. Joe Budd Photos